Obituary of Violet Elizabeth Brown

A Celebration of Life Violet Elizabeth (Smith) Brown was born in Calvert County, Maryland on January 20, 1926. She was the third of the late Nathan Earl and Annette (Gross) Smith's eleven children. As a child, she was educated in the Calvert County Segregated Public School system before relocating in her late teens to Baltimore, Maryland to pursue employment opportunities. There she met the love of her life, Frederick (Freddie) Junius Brown, Jr. and after a short courtship; the two were married on September 15, 1950 in a small private ceremony. While living in Baltimore, they had their first child, Brenda Bonita, then in 1956 moved to Newark, New Jersey where they were blessed with two more children, Carlton Junius and Vanessa Annette. As a homemaker raising her children, Violet became an active and tireless community volunteer, campaigning for Newark's first African American politicians including the first black mayor, Kenneth A. Gibson, in 1970. During this time she also continued her education, attending classes at Essex County Community College. Once her last child was enrolled in school, she began working many jobs until she secured her permanent administrative position with the U.S. Postal Service where she worked until her retirement. After the passing of her beloved husband, Freddie, in January, 1974, Violet began the process of moving back to Maryland to be close to her family, finally settling in Crofton, Maryland in 1976. By 1977, she dedicated her life through baptism to Jehovah God and after retiring, joined her late sister and brother in-law, Lottie and Linwood Adams as a full time pioneer with the Jehovah Witness' Bowie Maryland Congregation. Upon moving back to Baltimore in 2004, she continued her full-time pioneer service partnering with her spiritual sister, Mrs. Arnita Shields, in the former Gwynns Falls Park Congregation, now the Forest Park Congregation. She loved going door to door, talking about Jehovah God, conducting bible studies and attending annual conventions. In addition to serving Jehovah, Violet loved family gatherings and traveling. She helped organize and participated in every Smith-Gross Family Reunion since its inception in the summer of 1987. Always ready to go, Violet traveled extensively to many destinations both domestically and internationally throughout the world including Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, South Carolina, New York, Nevada, Illinois, Louisiana, Arizona, California, the Bahamas, St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Paris and London. She often travelled several times per year even visiting Suriname several times, and Venezuela and Canada twice. Although Violet never formally moved back to Calvert County, she always loved and cherished visiting her family there in Lusby and Solomon's Island. She loved the water and water sports like boating, fishing, crabbing and just relaxing in the sun. She adored being on the water and taking in the fresh country air and even though she didn't have a garden in the city, she happily harvested on her family's many acres of land in the country. Violet was also an excellent cook and made the best coleslaw imaginable! After working many devoted years as a pioneer with her congregation, declining health forced her to stop attending services. She lived with and was taken care of by her loving family and attended Keswick Adult Day Care until the COVID crisis of 2020. Eventfully, she moved to New Beginnings at Branchleigh Assisted Living where she received loving care during her last year. She fell asleep in death peacefully at 8PM on December 29, 2021; 22 days shy of turning 96. Violet is survived by her three children, Brenda Brown Smith (Thomas-deceased), Carlton Brown (Romelia) and Vanessa Brown (loving partner, Charles Simmons); Grandchildren: Tiffani Brown, Everett Hickson, January Hammonds, Carlton Fields, Casey Brown (Shenell), Dontrell Brennen, Lashia Brown, Elizabeth Woodson, Aminah Brown and Ashley Abreu-Senfle; Siblings: Marie Gray (Odyssey Sr.-deceased), James Smith (Nancy) and Roland Smith (Bonita) and a host of great grandchildren; cousins; nieces; nephews; extended relatives and dear friends. She is preceded in death by her husband; Freddie; Siblings: Eugene; Leon; Lottie; Patsy; Estelle; Annie Pearl and Rondell; and grandson: Colby Brown.